Wow, was I stropping wrong. Doh!
So, the nice thing about being a beginner is that ridiculousness is forgiven. Despite the fact that I watched several stropping videos
I spent the first 8 shaves of my new straight razor experience stropping with the blade first and not the spine. I guess I was just
confused on the concept. And the action was decent, so it didn't raise any red flags for me.
As I shaved each time though, I'll be honest, I was nicking myself less and less, and thought "Oh, I'm getting good at this." What I didn't
realize was the blade was just getting a little duller each time. (For beginners, not so bad)
Then I stropped my razor PROPERLY for the first time and it was such a different shave. So sharp! Shave 9 was my best shave
yet! I'm back on track. Lesson learned.